Alternatives to Telegram
Cloud messenger with huge groups; E2EE optional
Telegram ranks #4 of 11 in Personal messaging, with an Alt Score of 78. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, freemium from $4.99/month and available on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and Web. 11 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
People who want a fast, cloud-synced messaging app for one-on-one chats, large group conversations, or broadcasting to an audience via channels — from casual users to communities and businesses running bots.
Cloud-based chat that syncs seamlessly across phones, tablets, and computers using just a phone number, with no practical limits on chat or media size. Groups support up to 200,000 members, and channels can broadcast to an unlimited number of subscribers. Optional end-to-end encrypted 'Secret Chats' are available alongside standard cloud chats, and a public Bot API lets third parties build automated bots and mini-apps inside the platform.
Users sign up with a phone number and can log into the same account on multiple devices at once, with cloud chats staying in sync everywhere; Secret Chats, by contrast, are end-to-end encrypted and tied to the device they were started on. From there, users message individuals, join or create groups and channels, and interact with bots built on Telegram's open API.
Where Telegram stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Telegram
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Personal messaging checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Personal messaging checklist | Telegram | Delta Chat | Jami | SimpleX Chat | Signal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| E2E encryption by default | ||||||
| E2E optional | ||||||
| Voice calls | ||||||
| Video calls | ||||||
| Phone number required | ||||||
| Username-only signup | ||||||
| Federation / decentralized | ||||||
| Message editing & deletion | ||||||
| Disappearing messages | ||||||
| Reactions | ||||||
| Multi-device without phone | ||||||
| Backup & export of history |
Every fact and feature listed for Telegram is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-11
optional subscription service that unlocks additional exclusive features, while helping support the development of the app.
https://telegram.org/faq_premium -
Starts at $4.99/month verified 2026-07-11
Telegram Premium $4.99
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/telegram-messenger/id686449807 -
License GPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-11
Telegram Desktop is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 with the addition of the following special exception
https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop/blob/dev/LICENSE -
Platforms iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Web verified 2026-07-11
We have apps for iOS (13.0 and above), Android (5.0 and up), a native macOS app and a universal desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Telegram Web can also help to quickly do something on the go.
https://telegram.org/faq -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
Jun 11 Smartwatch Apps, Rich Text for Bots, AI Guardians for Groups, and Much More May 7 Guest AI Bots, Bot-to-Bot Chats, Chat Automation, Custom AI Styles, 100M+ Emoji & Sticker Search and Much More
https://telegram.org/blog/ai-bot-revolution-11-new-features -
E2E encryption by default No verified 2026-07-11
Note that the schema for these end-to-end encrypted Secret Chats is different from what is used for cloud chats: ... See also: MTProto 2.0: Cloud Chats, server-client encryption
https://core.telegram.org/api/end-to-end -
E2E optional Yes verified 2026-07-11
Secret Chats are one-on-one chats wherein messages are encrypted with a key held only by the chat's participants.
https://core.telegram.org/api/end-to-end -
Voice calls Yes verified 2026-07-11
You can make end-to-end encrypted Voice Calls and Video Calls, and you can turn any call into a Group Call with up to 200 participants
https://telegram.org/faq -
Video calls Yes verified 2026-07-11
You can make end-to-end encrypted Voice Calls and Video Calls, and you can turn any call into a Group Call with up to 200 participants
https://telegram.org/faq -
Phone number required Yes verified 2026-07-11
the phone number is the only way for us to identify a Telegram user at the moment.
https://telegram.org/faq -
Username-only signup No verified 2026-07-11
the phone number is the only way for us to identify a Telegram user at the moment.
https://telegram.org/faq -
Message editing & deletion Yes verified 2026-07-11
You can always delete any messages you sent or received for both sides in any one-on-one conversation (in groups, it's still your own messages only).
https://telegram.org/faq -
Disappearing messages Yes verified 2026-07-11
You can order your messages, photos, videos and files to self-destruct in a set amount of time after they have been read or opened by the recipient.
https://telegram.org/faq -
Reactions Yes verified 2026-07-11
Double tap a message to send a quick reaction.
https://telegram.org/blog/reactions-spoilers-translations -
Multi-device without phone Yes verified 2026-07-11
You can use Telegram on all your devices at the same time — your messages sync seamlessly across any number of your phones, tablets or computers.
https://telegram.org/faq -
Backup & export of history Yes verified 2026-07-11
As a result you'll get all your data accessible offline in JSON-format or in beautifully formatted HTML.
https://telegram.org/blog/export-and-more
FAQ
Yes. Delta Chat, Jami and WhatsApp have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Delta Chat, Jami and SimpleX Chat — every license claim links its source.